Microsoft Azure Stack - ASDK Deployment Prerequisites - Part 3

Hello Everyone,

In my previous post I have explained detailed HLD architecture for ASDK with all VM Roles. In this post, I will explain all prerequisites which needs to be configured before deploying ASDK deployment kit.

Microsoft document also shares same prerequisites but there are some key points which I noticed during deployment which must be highlighted & shared with You all.


PART 1: Microsoft Azure Stack - Introduction!

PART 2: Microsoft Azure Stack - Deployment Architecture with VM Roles!



Let's start understanding ASDK Deployment architecture with LLD architecture for single node POC environment. 😊😊

MICROSOFT AZURE STACK - ASDK PREREQUISITES:

For better understanding, I have created a LLD diagram for ASDK Prerequisites which will help in understanding all requirements for Azure Stack single node POC Server deployment. Microsoft also shares same prerequisites in ASDK Prerequisites document (CLICK HERE: Azure Stack Deployment Prerequisites) but I have mentioned some key points which I noticed during deployment which must be noted during deployment.

Below are the Key Prerequisites:

PROCESSOR:

Dual-socket with total 12 cores or more must be available.

MEMORY:

96 GB or more.

DISK:

Total 5 Disks are required:

• OS Disk: Min. 200 GB 
• Data Disk: Min. 4 Disks each with 250 GB.

NOTE:

• Remote SAN Storage is not supported.
• Partition from single disk into 4 is not supported.
• As per Microsoft, min 4 Data Disks are required but 3 Data Disks can also be used - Testing with 3 Data Disks is not done by Microsoft so I will recommend to use min. 4 Data Disks only.
• All disks should be of same type (All SAS or All SATA) 
• No MPIO is supported for SAS Type disks so use single path only if using SAS Type disks.
• Configure disk with RAID-0 single path.
• Do not create Volumes for Data Disk - Just keep disk online & initialize disks. If you create volumes the deployment process will get fail at storage pool configuration step.

NETWORK ADAPTER:

Only 1 NIC should be used with /24 network segment, all other NIC should be disabled because it will use only 1 NIC.

NOTE:

• Make sure You have access to the server via ILO or physically in Data-center because during configuration, network connection may get lost. This usually won't happen if all configurations are done correctly.

DRIVERS:

Update all required OEMs drivers & keep driver files in local drive because drivers will be used post preparing "Cloudbuilder.vhd" file & before installing ASDK setup.

INTERNET ACCESS & REQUIRED PORT:

Internet Access is required.

NOTE: Internet access through web proxy is not supported. If using DNS for Internet Access then make sure to provide the same in DNS Forwarder else during deployment when configuring network, Internet connectivity will be lost & deployment will get failed. I will show the same in deployment process blog post.

Required Ports:

• 80/443 TCP – Internet Access
• 123 TCP/UDP – Time sync with “pool.ntp.org” server over internet. Make Sure it should be open with all assigned IPs or should connect via server name as mentioned. 

NOTE: 123 Port is only required if You don’t provide Your on-premises NTP Server details during preparation of "Cloudbuilder.vhd" & want to sync it with Internet Time Server.

EXCLUDE BELOW SUBNET:

Don't use below subnets because these are reserved by Microsoft ASDK setup for different purposes:

• 192.168.200.0/24
• 192.168.100.0/27
• 192.168.101.0/26
• 192.168.102.0/24
• 192.168.103.0/25
• 192.168.104.0/25

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Operating System should be Windows Server 2012 R2 or more. ASDK Kit (Cloudbuilder.vhd) uses Windows Server 2016.
• Download Deployment Checker Powershell script (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!) & run the script before preparing the Cloudbuilder.vhd file & after booting the server in Azure Stack file (Cloudbuilder.vhd). This will explain if any prerequisite is missing before proceeding to install setup.
• Azure Subscription Credential with Administration rights - If deploying using Azure AD account then it is required else You can't proceed further & if deploying using ADFS, it is not required as per Microsoft. (NOTE: When I deployed usinng ADFS, it asks me to provide Azure Credentials for authentication purpose. My azure credentials don't have administration rights but it proceed further with after providing the same. 😲😲😲)

This is all about ASDK prerequisites, I will update if any changes are required further. 

In my next post, I will show How to configure & test all ASDK Prerequisites with screenshots.

Share Your feedback or any query!!!

Happy Reading!!!

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